Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 464 Entering the Plains, Blood Jade Bead, and the Terrifying Sea of ​​Roman Flowers
"The garrison troops, use the wind to dispel the miasma, for five days!"

Whoosh whoosh…

At the last moment before departure, Fan Qinghu gave the 50,000 garrison troops a final order: "Control the wind and dispel the miasma."

On the north side of the Golden Bone Furnace, the town guards had already set up a giant bellows that was thirty meters high. There were twenty ropes, each about two hundred meters long, made of the tendons of the Green Xun Tree. Five hundred bare-chested town guards were tied to each rope in turn.

"Hey…………"

At Fan Qinghu's command, tens of thousands of garrison soldiers shouted angrily and pulled the ropes together. The huge bellows roared and a terrifying gust of air came out, suddenly stirring the Golden Bone Furnace on the south side.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh……

The thick silver smoke billowing from the furnace was originally rising vertically, at most slightly twisted by the airflow. However, under the powerful airflow from the bellows on the north side, it suddenly turned and flew straight towards the Blood Miasma Plain on the south side.

"Such an imaginative idea could only come up with by a regional military governor... No, just coming up with it isn't enough. Materials, resources, manpower, and strength—if any one of these four is missing, it can't be done. Amazing, truly amazing..."

As Xia Hong watched the thick silver smoke billow towards the blood miasma area, his heart trembled, but his eyes also became slightly strange.

"However, this Golden Bone Furnace still can't compare to my Yangxu Cauldron..."

The thick, silvery smoke, propelled by the bellows, shifted southward, seeping into District 21 of the Blood Miasma Plain for about fifteen minutes. After the blood-red miasma thinned slightly, Fan Qinghu issued his final command:

"Let's go!"

Xia Hong's gaze sharpened slightly as he followed Fan Qinghu directly into the malaria-ridden area.

He had already demonstrated his strength when he entered the main building of the military camp yesterday, so he is now one of the five people standing at the very front.

The leader was naturally Fan Qinghu, and the four people following him were: Cai Yunlan, the eldest son of Linchu County, Cai Yunsheng, the eldest son of Qingcang County, Cai Yunwu, the deputy commander of the Silver Scale Army, and Zhu Long, the general in charge of all military affairs in Linchu County.

Caiqiu County has two military branches under its jurisdiction: the Town Guard Army and the County Guard Army. The so-called General Commander is the person who commands these two military branches. When Xia Hong heard Cai Yunlan mention the name Zhu Long yesterday, he immediately thought of the military advisor Zhu Yan.

"The Zhu clan is one of the six clans in Caiqiu besides the Fangbo lineage. Judging from Zhu Long's appearance, he should be of the same generation as Zhu Yan. A general with a strength of 42 jun and a military advisor with a strength of 19 jun—these two alone are probably not enough to support a powerful clan. Therefore, the Zhu clan likely also has experts at the Tribulation Realm. Caiqiu is indeed a place where hidden talents abound..."

As Xia Hong sighed, he unconsciously glanced at Zhu Long a few more times.

The more you look at it, the more problems arise.

Zhu Long clearly noticed his gaze, turned his head to look behind him, and immediately met Xia Hong's eyes.

He nodded slightly to Xia Hong, and a smile slowly appeared on his face.

Xia Hong immediately smiled and nodded in response. Then, after looking away, he suddenly felt a sense of goodwill towards Zhu Long.

If you're being secretly observed by someone you don't know well, your first reaction should be to get angry.

This Zhu Long clearly has a good temper.

Buzz…………

While pondering, Xia Hong followed Cai Yunlan and the other three, almost side by side and at the same time, into the miasma zone. The moment the blood-red miasma surged into his skin, a buzzing sound immediately rang in his ears.

The blood-red miasma was extremely aggressive. Before his first foot even touched the ground, half of his body was already stained blood-red by the surging miasma. Moreover, the miasma kept assaulting his skin, trying to penetrate his flesh and even his bones through his pores.

Xia Hong dared not be careless. He unleashed his full power of 47 jun in an instant, dispersing the miasma and landing on his back foot, entering the miasma zone.

The next second, something magical happened.

Cai Yunlan, who was originally only one or two meters away to his right, suddenly disappeared.

Of course, it doesn't really disappear.

Cai Yunlan appeared at this moment in an area a dozen meters to his right.

"As I expected, it is much larger than what the outside world sees, ten times larger in both length and width. In other words, the planned District 21, which appears to be only 20 square kilometers, is actually 2000 square kilometers. Considering the barrier that the blood-red miasma creates to perception, this makes much more sense."

The range of perception of a Xianyang-level expert is basically equivalent to the range of temperature rise when all strength is released. When Xia Hong broke through to the mid-Xianyang stage last year, his farthest perception range was three kilometers.

But now, his perception range has been reduced to only 300 meters, which is also a tenfold decrease.

"At least I still have a 300-meter perception range. If I could only rely on my naked eyes, it would be even worse. My current field of vision is only 100 meters at most. Beyond 100 meters, everything is blood red, and I can't see anything at all."

Xia Hong looked towards the miasma area, his pupils narrowing slightly.

Unlike the icy and snowy world outside, everything in the miasma zone—the sky, the ground, the trees, even the swirling air currents, and the clothes he and others wore—was blood-red, with no other color to be found.

"No wonder they say it's either madness or death. Even if the miasma has no effect, in this kind of environment, a normal person's mind will be affected if they stay for a little while..."

The tree density in the miasma zone was not high. Within a range of about 100 meters, Xia Hong roughly scanned the area and found that there were less than 20 trees in total.

Interestingly, the trees in the Blood Miasma Zone are much more normal in size compared to the outside world. Their lengths are unusually uniform, generally between 10 and 20 meters, with the thickest having a diameter of only half a meter.

Aside from the eerie color, the sheer scale of the trees in the Blood Miasma Zone gave Xia Hong the illusion of returning to the forests of his previous life on Earth.

“Different environments give rise to different vegetation, which is fine. The main thing is that these trees can grow normally in this blood miasma area. They are probably not ordinary trees. The blood miasma area that Cai Qiu has cleared is already more than 400 square kilometers. I didn’t see a single tree like this around the Zhenyuan camp yesterday…”

Xia Hong's gaze flickered as he looked at the trees. Although he really wanted to go and investigate, he held back when he saw that Fan Qinghu was already calling for people to gather. He then headed towards the crowd.

Fan Qinghu had already taken out a map of animal hide from his pocket. He unfolded it in front of everyone. The map was marked with Area 21, which was obviously the result of their previous exploration of this area.

Judging from the map, their overall exploration progress in Area 21 is currently less than 30%.

"Eight kilometers to the southwest, there is a small mound covered with rosy flowers. Last time, Yunwu and I led a team and saw three bronze-boned corpse demons moving around on that mound. This time, they are our target."

"We've already scouted the route beforehand. Although it avoids the three Bloodfrost Beast clans along the way, to prevent any accidents, everyone must remain vigilant. If we encounter a few scattered Bloodfrost Beasts or a small-scale beast tide, we can attack directly. However, if we provoke an entire clan, we must retreat immediately without any delay."

After Fan Qinghu finished speaking, he gripped the long sword at his waist, made a gesture to the crowd, and then led the way in the southwest direction.

What happened next was interesting. Fifty Xianyang-level beings lined up in a straight line and followed him slowly forward.

A strange look flashed in Xia Hong's eyes, but after thinking for a moment, he quickly understood why he did it.

After entering the Blood Miasma Plains, all those at the Manifestation Yang level must unleash their full power to constantly resist the invasion of miasma. As a result, they inevitably become beacons of light within the miasma zone. If they were to scatter and wander aimlessly, they would inevitably attract powerful beings from unfamiliar areas.

“Cai Yunlan told me before that Cai Qiu’s exploration of District 21 has been going on for two months. If they still have to be this careful after two months, is it really a dangerous situation at every turn? If only I could see the Bloodfrost Beast…”

hiss……

As if the Blood Miasma Plain could read Xia Hong's mind, he had only followed Cai Yunlan for less than two kilometers southwest, and before he could even finish his thought, a clear and piercing snake's hiss came from the top of a large tree on his left.

call…………

The moment the snake hissed, six people flew out from the group. These six people controlled their distance perfectly, surrounding the tree in six directions: front, back, left, right, up, and down. Without saying a word, they drew their weapons and attacked the bright red blood python at the top of the tree.

"Two meters long, there are already high-level cold beasts in this outer area!"

There were 51 people present. Xia Hong couldn't guarantee that he was the first to discover the blood python, but he should be in the top five without any problem. When he noticed that the blood-jade-colored python was more than two meters long, he was momentarily stunned.

Where have they gotten to yet?
We've only walked less than two kilometers, and we've already encountered a high-level cold beast?
roar…………

The next second, something astonishing happened.

The blood python realized it was surrounded, let out a roar, twisted its body a few times, and suddenly grew to tens of feet long, which was exactly the size of a high-level cold-blooded snake beast in Xia Hong's memory.

The blood python opened its blood-red maw and spewed out billowing black smoke, which instantly condensed into a jet-black sword blade tens of meters long. It then swung it fiercely, slashing straight at the four Manifestation Yang level beings surrounding it.

laugh…………

The black blade sliced ​​through the thick, bloody miasma, cutting cracks in the air and snapping the surrounding trees in half. Upon landing, it reacted violently, carving deep trenches into the ground.

"The Blood Jade Serpent spews out black smoke that contains deadly poison. We must not be poisoned. We are not far from their settlement. Lin Wu, we must finish this quickly."

"Yes, my lord!"

Upon hearing Fan Qinghu's command, the person at the top of the sky responded, and his long sword slashed down fiercely, the powerful blade landing directly on the top of the black serpent's head.

At the same time, the four Xianyang-level beings who had dodged the sharp blades from the Xuan Snake's mouth suddenly rushed towards four parts of the Xuan Snake's body, almost simultaneously raising their weapons and inserting them into the snake's body, pinning it firmly to the ground.

"ha…………"

Click!

Finally, one of the men below the black serpent swung his giant axe at the serpent's tail. With the combined efforts of the four men in front, the only part of the black serpent that could move was probably its head.

Roar... It suddenly twisted its head, spewing out black smoke from its mouth in an attempt to defend against the great sword slashing down from above. But with the combined efforts of five Xianyang-level beings, how could Lin Wu, who was holding the great sword above, give it a chance?

Click...

Lin Wu's basic strength was roughly 15 jun, but this powerful strike that descended from the sky was almost 20 jun in strength.

The Blood Jade Serpent's head was hit directly, and its fate was predictable.

Its head was split in two almost instantly, but strangely, instead of gushing blood as expected, after its life force was completely cut off and its body slowly returned to normal size, beads of blood the size of a thumb seeped out from the wound on its head.

Lin Wu stepped forward with practiced ease, cut open the head of the Blood Jade Serpent, took out a bag, and took out all the Blood Jade Beads inside, totaling more than two hundred.

"Six powerful cultivators, each with a minimum strength of 13 jun, joined forces. Even if the Blood Jade Serpent could struggle for a while, the Blood Frost Beast's strength..."

Xia Hong had no interest in looking at the Blood Jade Bead; his gaze was entirely focused on the Xuan Snake's corpse, his heart filled with horror and shock.

What is the concept of a normal high-level cold beast?
To date, Xia Hong has hunted thousands, if not tens of thousands, of high-level cold beasts, so he is naturally very familiar with them.

Their strength is measured in manes, and even the most powerful ones don't exceed fifty manes. This doesn't mean that's their limit. The Ice Abyss is vast, and Xia Hong hasn't seen all the high-level cold beasts, but he can basically deduce their general strength.

But this Blood Jade Serpent is clearly breaking the rules!
The moment six Manifestation Yang level beings appeared, it showed no fear whatsoever and even launched a counterattack. It was already quite unbelievable that its head could still move despite being restrained by five Manifestation Yang level beings.

Cai Yunlan noticed the surprise in Xia Hong's eyes and quickly explained:

“Brother Hong, the high-level cold beasts in this Blood Miasma Zone are completely different from those in the outside world. Their bodies have long been transformed by this blood miasma. Even in the areas that have been cleared, the weakest high-level cold beasts are at least 50 manes strong, and the strongest can even reach one jun (a unit of weight).

Within this dense miasma zone, the situation is even more extreme. The Blood Jade Serpent is one of the three major groups on the outskirts. The strength of a high-level serpent is generally around 5 jun (a unit of weight). If we encounter a Beast King-level serpent, we'll all have to join forces. If we fail to kill it before it summons its entire clan, even if we have fifty people, we'll have no choice but to flee. Moreover…”

He paused slightly at this point, then continued, "We can't run directly into the outer area of ​​the army. If they discover the Golden Bone Furnace, a fierce battle will immediately ensue."

When Cai Yunlan said those last words, her face clearly showed lingering fear.

Such experience is certainly not acquired without reason. Combining the expression on Cai Yunlan's face, Xia Hong immediately understood that Cai Qiu's army must have suffered a great loss before.

After Lin Wu retrieved the Blood Jade Bead, he immediately handed the bag to Fan Qinghu.

Fan Qinghu counted the blood jade beads, roughly allocated a portion, and then passed the bags down the line.

When the bag was passed to Cai Yunlan, he took out three beads from it and then handed it to Xia Hong. Seeing Xia Hong's puzzled expression, he immediately smiled and explained, "Since we came in together, all the spoils should naturally be divided equally. The Blood Jade Serpent produced 240 high-quality Blood Jade Beads. The vassal lord took 30%, Admiral Fan and his team took 18, and we will each take 3 of the remaining 150."

Xia Hong raised an eyebrow and, without any ceremony, took out three crystal-clear blood jade beads, then passed the bag to the person behind him.

"Brother Hong should have already heard about the Blood Jade Beads in the prefectural government. They can reshape the skin membrane of those with the Cold Resistance level, enhance their foundation, and improve their combat physique. However, that refers to the low-quality Blood Jade Beads in the trial area."

These high-quality blood jade beads are different.

Brother Hong knows that the cultivation process of the Cold Resistance level involves using medicinal power to stimulate and destroy the original flesh and blood tissue, so that the body can regenerate three rounds of more perfect flesh and blood. However, due to the limitations of foundation and methods, most people's flesh and blood have not actually been upgraded to a perfect state. The reason why the bones are divided into different levels when breaking through to the Manifestation Yang level is because the flesh and blood have limited carrying capacity.

"These high-quality blood jade beads can help us, at the Manifestation Yang level, to make up for the defects and deficiencies in our flesh and blood. As long as there are enough of them, they can even gradually improve our flesh and blood to a perfect state. Although they cannot improve the quality of our bones, they can significantly enhance our strength..."

At this point, Cai Yunlan paused, looked at Xia Hong and smiled, "Of course, Brother Hong comes from a powerful and wealthy family with a rich foundation, which is far beyond what we can compare with. The flesh and blood that regenerated when you were at the Cold Resistance level should not be far from the perfect state. However, every little bit helps. If you really can't use it, you can take it to your descendants!"

"I see, then it's really not of much use to me!"

Xia Hong answered without batting an eye, and then, seeing that someone in the group had already swallowed the Blood Jade Bead, he immediately swallowed it as well.

Sizzle sizzle...

As soon as the Blood Jade Bead entered his stomach, it instantly transformed into a warm current that spread throughout his body. The slight sizzling sound emanating from the flesh beneath his skin was a reminder of the flesh-regenerating process he experienced during his Cold Resistance cultivation. Xia Hong was instantly thrilled.

Cai Yunlan had no idea that he was not from a powerful family at all. When he reached the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, Xia Hong relied on the system's ability to consume resources to resist nerve pain, which allowed him to reshape his skin membrane to a perfect state. As soon as he broke through, he had the strength of the Nine-Mane.

As for the subsequent cultivation of the entire Cold Resistance level, there was no foundation to speak of at all. Xia Hong simply took Yang Yuan Pills step by step and completed the entire process of regenerating flesh and blood in a daze. When he finally broke through, he relied on a desperate effort to condense the highest level of Burning Bone.

This high-quality blood jade bead can really make up for the defects and deficiencies of his previous flesh and blood. After Xia Hong tested this effect, he could hardly contain his excitement.

To make up for deficiencies and shortcomings, in other words, to strengthen one's foundation, even if one's foundation is strengthened by just a little bit, one's strength will increase dramatically at his current level.

"High-quality Blood Jade Beads, what a surprise! The only downside is that I have to team up with them, which means I won't get many Blood Jade Beads..."

Looking at the team of fifty-one people, Xia Hong suppressed his excitement and quickly calmed himself down.

Although his strength is not bad, he is a newcomer and knows nothing about the miasma zone. Leaving the group is definitely a bad idea. He should stay with Fan Qinghu and the others to familiarize himself with the situation first, and then we can talk about it later.

"The density of cold beasts in the miasma zone is not low, and they can't escape. Let's get a general idea of ​​the situation first, and then find an opportunity to come in alone later!"

Xia Hong pondered for a moment. After the team had finished distributing the Blood Jade Beads, they began to continue heading southwest, and he followed closely behind Cai Yunlan.

Although eight kilometers is a short distance, it took a full fifteen minutes to reach the destination because everyone lined up in a straight line and Fan Qinghu in front was extremely cautious and deliberately controlled his speed.

"Is this a romaine flower?"

A small mound, estimated to be about four or five square kilometers in size, suddenly came into Xia Hong's view. The mound rose gently, with its highest point only about ten meters high, not very tall. However, the mound was covered with a kind of purple flower, which immediately attracted his attention.

The area was filled with blood-red miasma, turning everything crimson. The purple rosary flowers on the mounds also showed signs of turning slightly red under the influence of the miasma.

The striking, bewitching purplish-red hue suddenly caught Xia Hong's eye, inevitably stirring a sense of unease and vigilance within him.

"Brother Cai, this rosé flower..."

"Shh! Brother Hong, be quiet, look over there!"

Xia Hong was about to ask Cai Yunlan in front of him about the origin of this Luo Manhua, but before he could finish his question, Cai Yunlan interrupted him.

At Cai Yunlan's signal, he looked up in the direction the other was pointing, and his expression immediately froze.

On the side of the mound, about several tens of meters away from the sea of ​​bougainvillea flowers, a figure was slowly walking towards them.

Visibility in the miasma zone was only about 100 meters. The person was at least a mile away from them, so they couldn't see him very clearly. Seeing that everyone had crouched down slightly, Xia Hong immediately followed suit and crouched down as well.

"The humanoid one, is it the Copper Bone Corpse Demon that Fan Qinghu mentioned yesterday...?"

Xia Hong kept his eyes fixed on that side, and when he saw that the other party was still approaching them, a hint of tension appeared in his pupils.

"Something's not right, it's not just one, it's a group..."

Soon, Fan Qinghu, who was at the very front, made a new discovery.

The figure approaching them was now roughly discernible; it had a long sword at its waist and appeared to be wearing a set of silver armor.

Of course, what made Fan Qinghu exclaim in surprise was not the other person's attire, but the fact that there were several figures following behind that person.

Moreover, as the person got closer, the number of his entourage also increased.

“15、20、25、30、40……41……42……43……”

Fan Qinghu, Cai Yunsheng, and Cai Yunwu were quietly counting the number of people following the man, but they had only counted to about 40 when Xia Hong, who was standing in the fifth position in the group, noticed something and his pupils shrank.

"Also 51..."

Xia Hong counted the number of people on the other side faster than Fan Qinghu and the other two. A strong sense of unease suddenly rose in his heart. Without the slightest hesitation, a ray of light flashed in his left pupil, and then he looked at the group of people again.

"Fan Qinghu, Cai Yunsheng, Cai Yunwu, Cai Yunlan..."

With the blessing of the Divine Light of Illusion, Xia Hong instantly saw the group of people a mile away. His face stiffened and his pupils trembled slightly. After seeing the appearances of the four people in front of him, his gaze slowly moved to the fifth person.

Just as his gaze slowly shifted away, the fifth person on the other side seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly raised his head.

A bright light flashed across the left eye of the person opposite.

The two of them locked eyes!

The moment Xia Hong saw the other person's face clearly, his body trembled violently, and his pupils were instantly filled with horror.

The person opposite him not only looked exactly like him, but also dressed the same, with the Shattered Star Sword at his waist, the Yellow Mustard Bag on his back, and even his current expression.

How could this be... How could this be!

Just as Xia Hong's pupils trembled uncontrollably, the person opposite him suddenly grinned at him, revealing an extremely sinister smile.

(End of this chapter)